Jonah 2:1-7

1 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish,

2 saying, "I called to the Lord out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice.

3 You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me; all your waves and your billows passed over me.

4 Then I said, "I am driven away from your sight; how shall I look again upon your holy temple?'

5 The waters closed in over me; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped around my head

6 at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet you brought up my life from the Pit, O Lord my God.

7 As my life was ebbing away, I remembered the Lord; and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple.

Jonah 2:1-7 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JONAH 2

This chapter contains the prayer of Jonah, when in the fish's belly; the time when he prayed, the person he prayed unto, and the place where, are suggested in Jon 2:1; and the latter described as a place of great straitness and distress, and even as hell itself, Jon 2:2; The condition he was in, when cast into the sea, and when in the belly of the fish, which is observed, the more to heighten the greatness of the deliverance, Jon 2:3-6. The different frame of mind he was in, sometimes almost in despair, and ready to faint; and presently exercising faith and hope, remembering the goodness of the Lord, and resolving to look again to him, Jon 2:4,7. The gracious regards of God to him, in receiving, hearing, and answering his prayer, and bringing up his life from corruption, Jon 2:2,6,7. His resolution, let others do what they would, to praise the Lord, and give him the glory of his salvation, Jon 2:8,9; and the chapter is concluded with the order for his deliverance, and the manner of it, Jon 2:10.

Footnotes

• [a]. Theodotion: Heb [surely]